By Patchareeboon (Mam) Sakulpitakphon
A crime not widely acknowledged is the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism. In order to combat this terrible crime, an international initiative among tourism industries has established a set of gu
idelines, called The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism [The Code], by which tourism companies can join forces to take action to protect children from sexual exploitation. The Code has become an international tool to educate the tourism industry and tourists alike. A company’s membership within The Code is a tool of accountability that travellers can use to decide where to spend their money.
Tourism professionals are in key positions to prevent child sex tourism by adopting The Code.
The Code (http://www.thecode.org) is an industry-driven, multi-stakeholder responsible tourism initiative for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism.
Child sex tourism [1] is the sexual exploitation of children by a person who travels from their home district, geographical region, or country in order to have sexual contact with children. Child sex tourists can be domestic travellers or international tourists who use the accommodation, transportation and other tourism-related services to commit the crime.
The active involvement of tourism companies is crucial if child sex tourism is to be successfully
addressed. While tourism companies are not responsible for child sex tourism; tourism professionals are in key positions to intervene by protecting children and reporting cases.
The Code was developed by ECPAT Sweden in collaboration with Scandinavian tourism companies and implemented in 1998. It was one of the first initiatives to define the role and obligations of tourism companies. Any tourism company or business can join The Code and implement the following six criteria:
http://www.cancerincytes.org/#!the-code-of-conduct-for-the-protection-of-children-from-sexual-exploitation-in-travel-and-tourism/c1r1i
This article was originally published in Cancer InCytes, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2013.
The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism was originally published @ Cancer inCYTES Blog and has been syndicated with permission.
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